ENGINE 6, Manhattan

An old-school gold and black Manhattan Beekman Street street sign is mounted in front of a fire engine belonging to the Engine 6 firehouse in lower Manhattan. Such signs were used between 1964 and the mid-1980s.

The company was reorganized in 1846 as “Americus” and elected William “Boss” Tweed of Tammany Hall as its first foreman. By this time Engine No. 6 was popularly known as “Tiger” due to a tiger’s head painted as part of the decoration on the back of the engine. Thomas Nast later used the tiger in his political cartoons as a symbol for Tammany Hall. The company also adopted the tiger as its symbol.

Actually, the current Engine Co. No. 6 traces its’ lineage to Washington Engine Co. No. 20 ( 100 Cedar St.) not to Americus Engine Co., No. 6 (269 Henry St.) which was reorganized as Engine Co. No. 15 . At the reorganization of the New York Fire Department into the Metropolitan FD the only company to retain its’ original number, quarters, officers and a smaller group of members was Mutual Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1 at 28 Chambers St.
It’s amazing to think but the City of New York ( Manhattan only) was protected by the largest and finest volunteer fire department in the world up until September of 1865 consisting of 55 engine companies, 62 hose companies and 18 hook and ladder companies all commanded by a volunteer Chief Engineer and 15 Assistant Engineers. All that and contrary to popular myth it was actually very well run and extremely well organized with only rare occurrences of the rowdyism that occurred in Philadelphia or Baltimore.